We all know and love the DeLorean time machine from Back to the Future. It is the most recognizable vehicle from Hollywood and it has a history as interesting and exciting as the film series it stars in. The DeLorean Motor Company had a short and rough life thanks to its creator/owner, John DeLorean. The man led a lavish lifestyle filled with eccentricities that would eventually lead to his undoing. Driven tells the tale of DeLorean’s fall from the point of view of low-level FBI informant, Jim Hoffman.

It would have been easy to tell the John DeLorean story from John’s perspective, but that would have been boring. Instead, this movie dares to guess what was going on around DeLorean. What were the external factors that led to his alleged dealings with cocaine? Driven does what no other film could do for John Delorean: grow his mythology.

The film starts off with Jim Hoffman, played by the very funny Jason Sudeikis, Being coached for a testimony in court. This brief opening actually plays again later in the film. The real start of the story happens when Hoffman and his family are stopped by the FBI for alleged drug smuggling. Hoffman comes off as a cocky con-man who relies too much on luck. His interactions with straight-laced Special Agent Benedict Tisa (Corey Stoll) are hilarious. Tisa believes he has Hoffman cornered when a phone call provides Jim with an alibi. Now free to go Jim talks with his wife Ellen, played by the outstanding Judy Greer, about where they will move to. Ellen demands that she be allowed to choose their next destination, a choice that sets in motion a fateful meeting and life-changing adventure.

In California, the Hoffman family moves in next door to the eccentric John DeLorean, played by Lee Pace. DeLorean get’s a fun introduction through helping Jim with his GTO car. DeLorean designed the GTO and is able to fix the care with a few turns of a wrench. Sudeikis and Pace mesh well together on screen and have a chemistry that is equally disarming as it is awkward, in a good way. The audience can see where Hoffman is going and that DeLorean is blinded by his own ambition. We get to cheer and fear for both characters at different times throughout the film, and this makes for great entertainment. Lee Pace IS John Delorean!

The movie bounces back and forth between the story and Hoffman testifying in court. His character does exactly what he was told not to do at the opening of the film and helps balance some of the anger we may feel at Hoffman for some of his choices. The movie uses comedy to make uncomfortable situations like Hoffman being pitched an investment in the DeLorean Motor Company palatable. All of the actors put forth great effort into their roles and seem to have legitimate fun with their parts in the film. I really enjoy the interactions between Tisa and Hoffman. Tisa’s profanity-laced threats played against Hoffman’s cockiness had me in stitches.

The film isn’t all laughs though. There’s a specific part of the film where the tone changes and it’s when Hoffman addresses DeLorean in court. Lee Pace gives one of the most intense stares in all of cinema history. The entire third act is a slow-moving trainwreck in the best way possible. We are taken on a path we’ve seen coming since the Hoffman and DeLorean first meet, but we are still shocked by the outcome. The drama is thick but so welcome.

Driven is a film for car lovers, crime film lovers, and buddy comedy lovers. It single-handedly provides everything you expect in a story about John DeLorean while also surprising you at every turn. This film is wonderfully written, wonderfully directed, and wonderfully acted.

Driven hits theaters and digital/demand on August 16th!

Recommended if you enjoyed: The Wolf of Wall Street and Catch Me If You Can

Final Grade: A

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